EIA is proud to present the 2011 Public
Education Quotes of the Year, in countdown order. Enjoy!

10) "That's
what you're deciding on today - about whether or not you want to inject
yourself into the individual, private decisions that employees make about
their money." - Kevin Watson, a lobbyist
for the Florida Education Association, on a bill in the state legislature
that would require unions to get written authorization from members in order
to use dues for political purposes. (March 21
Florida Times-Union)

9) "The
governor has selected some of the smartest policy thinkers in California.
They're experienced, they're thoughtful and they're largely independent
minded, with the exception of the CTA staffer." - Bruce Fuller, professor of
education at UC Berkeley, commenting on Gov. Brown's appointment of
California Teachers Association lobbyist Patricia Ann Rucker to the state
board of education. (January 8
Los Angeles Times)

8) "In
the 30-some years we were part of the (American Federation of Teachers
union), we never had to use their services. There were never any grievances
that warranted that. We really - and I'm going to be honest - never really
got much out of it.Jump"
- Becky Seitz, former president of the AFT affiliate in North Cape,
Wisconsin. (December 10
Journal-Times)

7) "It
appears that budgeting errors were made. It's not good fiscal sound practice
to spend more money than what you have coming in.Jump"
- Broward Teachers Union communications director John Ristow. (December 6
NBC-TV Miami)

6) "It
makes perfect sense to me that students in the Education Department of a
university would have the highest GPAs because they are being taught by
trained educators. I would expect the lowest GPAs to be among the math and
engineering students because mathematicians have still not figured out how
to teach math." - Educator and author
Nancy Illing, commenting on a story about grade inflation at teachers'
colleges. (June 10
Teacher Beat)

5) "The
fact that we have so many private schools is detrimental to the public
school system." - Shirley Parola, a retired teacher, speaking at an
education reform forum in Hawaii. (May 5 Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

3) "I
disagree with him completely that our system is broken. It's not our system,
it's the preparation of our kids these days. For my school, is it my fault
that students come to me in the eighth grade and read at a second grade
level?" - Ruby Caliendo, a middle school teacher in Nevada, commenting on
Gov. Brian Sandoval's budget address. (January 25
Las Vegas Sun)

1)
"If you want to divide that $240,000 into the amount of hours spent, I
think you would find that the per hour was probably not much at all,
considering the work that had to be done." - Former National Education
Association President Reg Weaver, explaining why he deserves his $242,657
annual pension from the state of Illinois. (October 23
Chicago Tribune)